CDC says hospital-acquired MRSA infections on the decline

WASHINGTON — Infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that began in hospitals and other health care settings have declined 28 percent in recent years, according to Business Week.

Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that rates of "invasive" MRSA infections that had their onset in hospitals or other health care facilities declined an average nine percent annually from 2005 through 2008.

According to the study, which was published in the August 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, invasive MRSA infections that were associated with health care settings but began outside, in the community, also declined.

"While we don''t know for sure what caused these rates to go down, we''re hopeful and encouraged that the aggressive infection control programs that many hospitals have instituted are having an impact," said lead author Dr. Alexander J. Kallen, medical officer in the division of Health Care Quality Promotion at the CDC.